I was looking to upgrade my front breaks. And this looks like something feasible. Does Saco Performance still exist? I've been searching everywhere and I keep getting directed to Mckenzie's Performance. Brother-Bee are you still involved with this break kit in any way? Very confused at where to purchase the kit.
Saco Performance is no more. Both owners retired due to illness and I believe both passed away a few years ago.
The most interesting item they made for the Pantera was their billet aluminum rear uprights. They weighed less than half of what the OEM iron uprights weighed, used a modern cartridge bearing, had CV companion flanges and Porsche 996 TT rear calipers bolted-on without an adapter.
Unfortunately the owner of SACO died and his only son was interested in liquidation of business and property. I have all remaining parts from the shop although not inventoried. The shop did not supply calipers which came from 2002-2005 Porsche Turbo or Turbo S. Ten years ago availability was better. Single caliper from Pelican (996-351-429 & 996-351-430) costs over $1200 each. The rotors were custom ordered from Coleman Racing Rotors and cost between $150 and $400 each depending upon how you want them prepared. Also brake master cylinder change and compensation valve may be needed. Finally 17 inch diameter rims are the minimum diameter. If you’re still interested I have mounting brackets, hats, hubs all made from billet aluminum and will assist as much as needed.
Hi Ike, I was just looking on eBay and used calipers can still be purchased for roughly the same price for what I paid for them 7 years ago. The 996 Turbo calipers are from 2001 to 2005. 997 911 carrera s are the same caliper which are what I used on my car (same part # as the the 996 Turbo caliper). The 997 carrera s was made from 2005 to 2012.
I would like to thank Ike, Ken, and Ed again for coming up with a great option. They have worked well on my car and I am glad I went with these. If you can’t find anything on EBay, try European Auto recycling which is where I purchased my set from.
Thank you for all of your responses! Brother-Bee, do you still have the rear Billet Aluminum Uprights that David was talking about as well? I'm in Southern California and would love to check out your inventory.
Three sets of the rear uprights with possible one additional i want to use to determine strength against OEM uprights. I live in Rancho Cucamonga close to where the 15 & 210 cross. It’ll take me a month to be ready for show & tell due to Dementia of a family member. Send PM with email and we can plan for a date to get together. Thanks
@pantera2040 posted:Thanks for the reply.
Not terribly priced, roughly the same as Massive Brakes Kit (Lee) for my other favorite marques.
In the event I cannot locate my calipers in storage, please shoot me a PM with the total package price with calipers and the kit you mentioned.
I already have a new GT4/GT5 master from Wilkinson on my bench along with the Corvette master cyl on the car now. Do you recommend Wilwood or Brembo curved-vane vented, slotted discs?
Maybe Contact Larry at Pantera Parts Connection in Carson City Nevada. 775-283-4411. He has/or had Porsche Rotors adapted to fit the Pantera. I have them on My 73, along with WilWood Brakes, they work well and are of High Quality.
It kinda matters what wheels you're using. The absolute largest OD rotor you can fit into a 15" Campagnolo of any width is 11.5". With 17" or larger wheels, there's room for larger OD rotors IF you modify the system with properly positioned calipers. Adding bigger rotors and leaving any calipers in the same place as stock gains nothing in terms of braking power.
And I agree- Porsches are a great source of parts. Back in the '80s I adapted a set of '70s Porsche (thin) vented rotors on all 4 Pantera corners, and used front 911-S (ATE) 2-piston aluminum calipers in back. I balance braking with a manual Kelsey-Hayes (Corvette) proportioning valve plumbed to the rear calipers. My separate, legal e-brake calipers are Wilwood mechanicals intended for go-karts.
One problem with ALL Euro calipers (Ferraris, Cobras & all Girlings including the Pantera) is, they used chrome-or nickel-plated mild steel pistons which will pinhole-rust in time. U.S. calipers (since the '60s) all use stainless steel. No pits, no liability. Check with a magnet- there are replacement caliper pistons of ss for everything nowadays. I made my own pistons of 316-ss for the ATE's back a few decades.
We went with the 996 Turbo (Brembo) calipers because the 996 Turbo has about the same weight distribution, is a bit heavier, and they are radial mount which made adapting simple. I also thought they look great.
Increasing brake torque by using a larger diameter rotor is only one way to increase braking.
Adding larger surface area to the pads and clamping power is another.
I will point out that the system that I went to, i.e., using 67 Ford T-bird fronts and 65 Mustang front's on the rear, double the braking capacity of the Pantera, and fit within the original 15" Campi's.
The components are less expensive, readily available and are durability proven run on the Ford factory Mustang Trans-Am cars in the 1969-70 Trans-Am racing season. They are still being run today in Vintage Racing.
They are very easily adaptable to the Pantera and only require installing an adjustable proportioning valve for the rears.
Using the Tesla EPB conversion solves the parking brake issue and it permits you to remove permanently the cabin handbrake and mounting structure to the passenger seat area.
I don't know why so many search for exotic solutions to better braking? To me this is as obvious as the nose on my face, which admittedly is very prominent. 
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Panteradoug, that sounds like a great solution! Did you have to fabricate adapter brackets for the front and rear calipers? And, how did you get the Tesla e-brake mounted as well?
@Jaygee71 posted:Panteradoug, that sounds like a great solution! Did you have to fabricate adapter brackets for the front and rear calipers? And, how did you get the Tesla e-brake mounted as well?
They all require fabricated brackets (adapters). All fairly simple. Not rocket science.
In the case of the Tesla EPB you can buy a mounting bracket from Pantera-Electronics to save the effort.
In the case of the Ford calipers brackets were made out of 3/8" plain plate steel but you could use aluminum plate as well.
For me the steel is easier to weld on.
@Bignosedoug …. The cable operated Wilwood parking brake calipers work very well too!
i’m a fan of less electric stuff …
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If you are looking for mechanical parking brake calipers, HiSpec Brakes in the UK make excellent units. Notice the cable routing in the photo below. They are the only aftermarket parking brake calipers I’m aware of, other than Brembo (Lamborghini, Viper), that use the stock Pantera cable routing.
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@LeMans850i posted:@Bignosedoug …. The cable operated Wilwood parking brake calipers work very well too!
i’m a fan of less electric stuff …
I told you not to touch the wires with your tongue didn't I? Yikes.